The men who were binding sheaves may be rendered “the men who were tying the stalks of barley into bundles.” A sheaf was a bundle of harvested stalks of grain, which was tied using a cord, probably made of grasses. Binding sheaves is referred to in Gen 37.7. Good News Translation has avoided the specific work of binding sheaves by simply calling these people “farm workers” (similarly Contemporary English Version). In cultures where this practice is unknown, translators may wish to follow Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version‘s model.

Overcome by the burning heat is literally “the burning heat came on his head.” Good News Translation has “suffered a sunstroke.” Sunstroke is an overheating of the body as a result of too much exposure to the sun, which can result in fever, convulsions, and even coma or death. In some languages there will be no technical word for this condition, so one may describe it; for example, “He had stood a long time in the fields in the hot sun supervising his workers, and he became so hot that he had a fever and went to bed” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

The Greek uses two clauses to say that Manasseh took to his bed and died in Bethulia his city. Good News Translation makes a very small logical jump to combine the two clauses and say that he “died in bed at home in Bethulia.”

So they buried him with his fathers … between Dothan and Balamon: The Greek says nothing about a “family tomb” (Good News Translation) or “family burial place” (Contemporary English Version), but if he was buried with his ancestors, there presumably was one (see the mention of his burial “cave” in 16.23), especially since Manasseh was rich (8.7; compare Gen 49.29). Dothan has been mentioned before (4.6), but Balamon is unknown (see 4.4; 7.3).

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.